It is sometimes desirable to electroplate selected surfaces of a small component or part (e.g., a valve component). This may be desirable in order to provide a functional and/or esthetic plating on the selected surfaces.
There are several problems associated with economically electroplating surfaces of a multiplicity of small parts simultaneously. A problem that must be considered during design of an electroplating tool for holding a large number of small parts during an electroplating process is how to provide good electrical contact with each of the parts without having to carefully align or attach electrical contacts individually to each of the parts. Another problem that must be considered is how to firmly hold each of the parts on the tool during the electroplating process. There is also some difficulty associated with achieving uniform plating thickness for a large number of parts held on a single electroplating tool. Specifically, there is a tendency for heavier plating to occur on surfaces exposed to higher current densities.
It would be desirable to provide an electroplating tool that is capable of quickly locking each of a large number of individual parts on the tool in a simple operation. It would also be desirable to provide a tool that is capable of establishing a good electrical connection with each of the parts in a simple operation. Features that allow modification of the local current density would also be desired to achieve more uniform plating thicknesses for each part and among all parts.